Take a sledgehammer and wrap an old sweater around it. This is your "shovelglove." Every week day morning, set a timer for 14 minutes. Use the shovelglove to perform shoveling, butter churning, and wood chopping motions until the timer goes off. Stop. Rest on weekends and holidays. Baffled? Intrigued? Charmed? Discuss here.
I teach a Chicago Writer's class, and as we watched Chicago: City of the Century, a PBS series, there was footage of workers on the railroad.
I apologize if this glove move already exists, but here it goes:
Stand as if you were straddling a rail. Then imagine you are driving spikes on either side of the rail. The move is similar to chopping wood, however the swing is lower, and seems to originate more from the torso, hence the abs are rocked a bit more.
Also, you can grip the glove lower on the handle (ie. away from the head), position the hands closer together to generate more torque and therefore when you stop the hammer, you get more ab work.
I have the railroad in mind when I do a move I call "Pumping the Handcar". Basically it's an upright row, but is starts near the floor, knees bent, then straightens up, and raises the SG to chest height. This one really burn the hamstrings, quads, and abs.
P.S. I hold the SG by the head and point the handle out, away from me, although as I rise up, the handle ends up pointing down. I can do this because my SG is a short-handled one. Don't know how this would work if you have a 36" handle.
When I SG outside with the old truck tire, I can get a real complete swing in, almost all the way to the ground (striking the old tire). I'm imagining it feels like driving the spike, but without the "braking". It feels great.
Thanks Jan, Thanks, Kid, thanks David.
Kevin
1/13/2011-189# :: 4/21/2011-177# :: Goal-165#
"Respecting the 4th S: sometimes."
